Bordieu: Cultural Capital

Pierre Bordieu 

(b. 1930- d. 2002)

Pierre Bordieu was a French sociologist. 

What is Cultural Capital? 

Cultural capital is defined as: 

"The distinctions that develop between individuals and groups due to differences in access to education, family background, occupation, and wealth, giving them advantages and serving as a signifier of an individual's status with a group or society." (SociologyDictionary). 

Bordieu, along with Jean-Claude Passeron, coined this term in their 1977 essay "Cultural Reproduction and Social Reproduction".  There are three types of capital; embodied, objectified, and institutionalised. 

To simplify, cultural capital means that the more knowledge one has in a certain area, the better regarded they are in society. There are elements of "high culture" like opera, classical music, and philosophy, that are more highly regarded in society, and elements of "pop culture" like soaps, pop music, and celebrity gossip, that are often dismissed. However, one can be seen as having high cultural capital in a certain field, and be well regarded. For example; the celebrity gossip journalist Perez Hilton is seen negatively in wider society, but is considered as knowledgable and having a high cultural capital within those interested in celebrity gossip. 

Possible influences for my film: 

Using intertextual references of various horror and slasher films, the older films such as Psycho (1960) are seen as having high cultural capital, and can elevate my film from being negatively considered as a low budget slasher. 

Resources: 

https://sociologydictionary.org/cultural-capital/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_capital